


Engaged

by spacedaydreamer



Category: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Gen, i found this drabble from last year and it hurts so i'm sharing it with you all, rilena's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 14:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9389378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: It was rough, being engaged. Oh, it wasn’t at all like Rilena disliked her fiancé- In fact, he was a pretty good guy. Smart, entertaining enough to talk to, if it wasn’t just for one tiny thing. (pre-game angst drabble)





	

It was rough, being engaged.

Oh, it wasn’t at all like Rilena disliked her fiancé- in fact, he was a pretty good guy. Smart, entertaining enough to talk to, if it wasn’t just for _one_ tiny thing. She was completely, utterly, asexual.  It wasn’t like they hadn’t tried to make it work, really. They’d figured that since they got along fine as research partners and friends, then maybe this whole ‘arranged marriage’ thing could work out for them… but it was not going to be.

After the first time they tried, they knew right away. They hadn’t been able to get their clothes fully off before stopping, neither one at all interested. It was shortly after that when Aster confessed how he’d been seeing Richter. The news wasn’t much of a surprise to her- she’d caught the looks they shared when they thought she wasn’t looking, the way that Aster acted around Richter that was different that anyone else. Really, it was harder to understand how they other researchers  _hadn't_ noticed.

It had been Rilena’s suggestion to keep the engagement going. After all, who knew what kinds of rumours would fly if a human and a half-elf got together— but two research scientists? No, nobody would care about that. It was old news already, anyways. And so it had ended up that they were now an odd trio of friends, pushed together by chance and circumstance, but still finding time to actually learn to care about one another regardless.

* * *

 

“Hey, Richter, Rilena! I just got a major breakthrough!”

The two looked at Aster with massive bags under their eyes, not sure how the blond managed to stay so energetic even though this was the end of their second all-nighter in a row. Aster had said he was _this close_ to finishing his thesis, so he’d asked them to come to the lab and help out… which had led to hours of frustration, occasionally banging their heads against the wall, far too much coffee to be considered safe for consumption, and a _lot_ of roadblocks. So, they weren’t too hopeful about Aster’s “big break”, unfortunately.

“It’s so obvious, I don’t know how I didn’t figure it out sooner! We’ve spent so long theorizing about Ratatosk, writing up about his duties… why don’t we just ask him ourselves?”

Rilena’s face hit the table, and she could hear Richter groan audibly.

“And how, pray tell, do you think we’re going to do that? We could barely even find any texts on the guy, how the hell do you think we’re going to get the academy to give us a research grant to go gallivanting around the world to find a summon spirit we don’t really have solid proof is even here?”

Not one to be fazed, Aster’s voice was bright as ever.

“Simple! We find a centurion~ If we can do that then not _only_ will we be able to conclusively prove that Ratatosk is real, but we’ll _also_ be able to ask it to lead us right to him! It’s a win-win, really. C’mon guys, you _have_ to agree with me here.”

Rilena sighed, but she couldn’t entirely fight his point… Aster was certain that Ratatosk was real, and his general theories had never proven wrong before. Sure there was a first time for everything- and it wasn’t like he’d never had any failed experiments- but there could be some merit to this…

“Well, if you think you can convince the director, then I’m for it.”

Her answer surprised the both of them, she could see it as she finally picked her head up off the table and turned to look.

“Besides, it’ll get you two out of the academy and some solid alone time. Watching Aster flirt is… just sad, sometimes.”

The accused only winked, while Richter slowly, subtly began to turn red.

“W-wait, what do you mean you’re not coming with?”

“Simple: it’s Aster’s theory, and I can’t fight- but you can. I’d just be an extra pain to defend if you took me along. Think of it as a vacation.”

He still looked embarrassed, but there was a mix of frustration and gratitude on his face. For someone who could be so hard to read at times, he sure was like an open book when it came to Aster, she thought. If only he could just be a bit more open with his feelings... although Aster seemed to be able to read the half-elf’s mind anyways.

“Well, I’m going to ask the director now! Be right back.”

“Aster, get back here right now! It’s 3am, the whole academy’s asleep!”

“What was that?”

“ _Aster!!”_

…. Well, life sure was hectic, but she didn’t mind. It’d so long as they could work together to find a solution, then things would keep looking up.

* * *

 

“Hey, wasn’t she Aster’s fiancé?”

“Poor girl…”

“They seemed so close, I can’t believe what happened…”

“That bastard half-elf, I knew they were no good…”

If there was one thing Rilena had realized she hated since… that day… it was the voices. Now, no matter where she went, there were always people whispering- talking about things like they knew.

None of them knew.

It made no sense. Why would Richter do something like that? She knew him, she knew _both_ of them… right? She’d always known that their relationship was special, but…had Richter just been playing them the fool? No, that wasn’t right. Just because she didn’t feel that way, it didn’t mean she couldn’t see it. Those looks, the way they’d let their hands linger ever so slightly when they touched… it couldn’t just have been coincidence.

Richter had loved Aster. She knew it. So why, then? For that, there was no answer. Maybe it was just because she was no prodigy like Aster, but no matter how hard she tried, how many nights she spent tirelessly trying to think up a reason why Richter would ever kill Aster, she could think of nothing. It was simply… impossible.

 The hardest part of her days now was the acting. At first they’d believed some denial, she was in grieving, after all. However, that wasn’t what they would expect forever. No, they expected contempt, hatred towards the half-elf who ‘stole her love’. From the looks of things, people would never be able to accept a union of a half-elf and human now- even if she tried to tell the truth about them, no one would believe her. They’d probably just think she was crazy. So, all Rilena knew was that now and forever she’d have to keep their secret to the grave.

It had been rough, being engaged- but at least then, she’d had her friends.

**Author's Note:**

> I found this buried in my documents folder from like a year ago, and I figured "yep that's angsty enough to post here". Why do I always attach myself to the side characters who get .5 seconds of screen time?


End file.
